Tagging billionaires with the power to bring real change on social media posts isn’t uncommon. However, what’s truly rare is when one of them takes the time to see the post and respond. Yet that’s exactly what happened when a disappointed father narrated his son’s heartbreaking plans to play some ice hockey. “My kid was so excited to skate tonight,” wrote the NHL fan.

Unfortunately, he was also, “super bummed we couldn’t find anywhere to go,” NHL and Utah hockey fan Matt explained on X. “Any plans to help the state build more ice rinks?” Matt asked NBA’s Utah Jazz and NHL’s Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith. It turns out that the man who brought a basketball boom to Utah may have already been cooking up similar plans.

“This is going to be a summer project. We believe that every municipality in Utah should have an Ice Rink,” Ryan Smith said in his bold claim. Setting up an ice rink in every municipality across an entire state sounds like a daunting and expensive proposition. However, his company, the Smith Entertainment Group, has already pulled off something similar with basketball.

“With Basketball… we have 70,000 kids playing Jr. Jazz and more basketball courts per capita than anywhere else,” added the Utah Jazz owner. “Should be the same for hockey. More to come…” assured the NHL team owner. The first big project is already under construction.

In August 2024, SEG broke ground on a twin-sheet training facility for the Utah Hockey Club. It’s a 111-acre site between I-15, 10000 South, State Street, and 10600 South, and should be up by the time the 2025-2026 season rolls around. The best part? SEG plans to make the facility available to the public. “When our guys are off the ice, the community is going to be on the ice,” said Ryan Smith. The billionaire has also laid the groundwork, so youngsters like Matt’s son don’t have to deal with disappointment for too long.

Ryan Smith’s plan to foster NHL caliber talent

The Qualtrics founder is not just into owning sports teams, but is also passionate about getting the community involved with the sport. What better way to drive that involvement than to give kids a platform to get into the sport they love at a young age? So Smith’s plans of building ice skating rinks across Utah is just the next phase of a plan he has already set in motion.

The Utah Hockey Club founder calls it the Learn to Play program. The program provides hockey equipment to schools, helping them include ice hockey in their PE curriculum. The Learn to Play program also gives young players a taste of what it’s like to play in the NHL through various other initiatives. Smith created the blueprint with Junior Jazz and is applying it to hockey.

Chris Armstrong, the president of hockey operations at Utah HC, is also committed to helping the sport grow. “Utah Hockey Club is committed to making hockey accessible to as many kids and families as possible. Our youth programs focus on helping kids to learn the game and cultivating a passion for the sport in neighborhoods and communities throughout the state,” he said. So it’s not a matter of if, but when Ryan Smith starts building those skating rinks.